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Reunited: A boy and a hero

By LOU BERNARD For The Express 6 min read

Almost 60 years ago, a boy fell into the canal and almost drowned. A man saved him.

This summer, over half a century later, the two of them came together again.

Robert Karichner was five years old on Feb. 10, 1965, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carson Karichner, when he stumbled into an unused canal on the south side of Lock Haven and couldn't get out. What could have been a horrible tragedy turned instead into a story of heroism when Perry Courter, of Castanea, was driving home from work.

Courter, 22, hadn't taken that route home in two days. Working in Mill Hall and living in Castanea, he normally drove down Park Street on his way home. But with recent flooding, he'd been taking a different route. Even Courter himself was never able to explain why, at the end of his shift, he turned onto Woods Avenue, knowing that it might have still been unusable.

As he drove, he saw a little boy walk out onto the side and fall through.

"I always looked to the left when I turned, and this time I looked to the right," Courter said in a recent interview. "And I saw this kid... Bobby, but I didn't know his name at the time... bobbing in the water."

Courter acted quickly, walking onto the ice to rescue the boy. He lay down for a more stable position. The ice cracked and Courter fell through, but he managed to grab little Robert Karichner, lift the boy onto his own shoulders and try to climb back up the bank.

A teenager living nearby saw the whole thing happen, and rushed into a nearby home to call the police. Through some unexplained confusion, the police logged a call about a dog in the canal. Corporal Melvin Leathers and PFC James Koegler were sent to investigate.

By the time they arrived, Courter himself had almost drowned. A crowd of almost 30 people had begun to gather by this time. The police pulled Karichner up out of the canal as Courter went underwater. The newspapers later noted the police were technically out of their jurisdiction geographically, but it didn't matter under the circumstances.

As Courter reappeared on the surface one last time, paper mill employee Robert Breon ran from his car with a rope, which he'd pulled from his trunk. He threw it into the water, but Courter didn't see it.

"I did not see a rope," he said. "I was fighting for my life, and I just didn't see it. There was a pipe, and someone grabbed me before I could go into the pipe. If they hadn't grabbed me, I wouldn't be here."

Courter was unable to breathe at this point. Koegler administered artificial respiration in the police vehicle on the way to the hospital.

"He had swallowed a lot of water and had almost drowned," read Koegler's later police report. "I told Officer Leathers to drive the cruiser and I put the fellow into the back seat, on the floor, face down because he couldn't get his breath. I started to apply artificial respiration on him as we were on the way to the hospital. By the time we arrived at the hospital, the fellow had most of the water out of his lungs, was able to breathe again, but was very cold."

Karichner was taken to the hospital by his mother and a family friend, and was admitted for observation. Courter was treated for exposure, and was said to be "groggy, blue about the lips."

Both of them were treated and released from the hospital within a few days.

At that point in Lock Haven's history, the mayor was Douglas Peddie. Peddie immediately issued a commendation to Courter, and ordered Koegler promoted to Corporal. He began plans for a committee to present plaques to all of the people who had helped to save this little boy from drowning. These plaques were later presented at a city-funded dinner in honor of the men.

Almost a year later, Courter was awarded the Hero Medal by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission of Pittsburgh. Nominated by The Lock Haven Express staff soon after the event, he was given the award once the facts could be established and verified. At that time, Courter had gone on to work at Piper Aircraft. His acceptance of the medal made the front page of The Express and brought the entire incident into the forefront of the community's consciousness again, and the medal itself was on display in the front window of the Express for several days. Courter later donated the medal and plaques to the Heisey Museum.

In July, Karichner came back to Pennsylvania for a visit, and met up with Courter again.

Karichner now lives in Florida. At a social event on his porch one day in June, he met a man named Courter.... Dean Courter.

"It was a small gathering on the front porch," said Karichner. "And the subject of last names came up, and he said his was Courter. And I went, 'Oooooh, wow.' I asked how it was spelled, and if he was from Pennsylvania, and said, 'By any chance do you know a Perry Courter?'"

Karichner told his story. Dean's companion, Lisa, looked the name up on her phone, and discovered his address. And Karichner decided to pay a visit when he came back to Pennsylvania in July to visit relatives.

Courter, who now resides in Pleasant Gap, laughed a bit during the interview as he told the story.

"It was July 23," he said. "He came to my house and he was on Cloud Nine. I was doing laundry after church when I heard a knock at the door. I answered it, and there was this guy standing there."

Karichner said, "Do you know who I am?"

"No," said Courter. "Who?"

"I'm Bobby Karichner."

"Bobby? Really?"

Courter invited Karichner in, and the two of them sat and talked for nearly an hour, reminiscing about the one incident they shared from their past - the day a life had been saved.

"It was surreal and humbling," said Karichner. "He was the hero... I'm just the dumb little kid who started all this in the first place. How do you ever express your gratitude for something like that? What do you say? Just saying 'Thank you' doesn't cut it."

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